Poll: 62 percent of Democrats and independents don't want Clinton to run again

A majority of Democratic and independent voters made clear that they don’t foresee Hillary Clinton in their 2020 vision of the presidential election, according to a USA Today/Suffolk University poll released Wednesday.

Sixty-two percent of Democrats and independents surveyed said the twice-failed presidential candidate shouldn’t mount another campaign in 2020, and only 23 percent would be excited by her campaign if she did.

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The two people they would most like to see are two of the most prominent Democratic-aligned politicians unlikely to seek the White House in 2020: Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and Vice President Joe Biden. Forty-four percent and 43 percent of those voters, respectively, said they would be excited to see Sanders and Biden run.

Sanders challenged Clinton for the Democratic nomination, but it’s unlikely that the 75-year-old independent senator would mount another White House bid. However, he has said he plans to run for reelection to his Senate seat in 2018.

Biden, 74, repeatedly teased a possible 2020 White House run earlier this month but ultimately conceded he has “no plans” to run but will “stay deeply, deeply involved” in Democratic politics.

A majority of Democrats and independents would like to see a new name, though. While 35 percent would be excited about a Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren run and 10 percent for former Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick, 66 percent would like to see “someone entirely new” become the Democratic Party’s standard-bearer as it looks to rebound from a surprising Election Day loss that saw Donald Trump prevail over Clinton and Republicans maintain control over the House and Senate.

President Barack Obama, who has said he’s interested in “developing a whole new generation of talent” once he leaves office, enjoys a 54 percent approval rating. But 59 percent of likely voters believe Trump “will significantly dismantle” the president’s legacy. Likely voters are largely split over whether that’s good or bad — 45 percent said it’s good, and 43 percent said it’s bad.

Trump is 30 days out from being sworn in as the nation’s 45th president, but likely voters still aren’t sold on his transition into the White House. While 41 percent approve of the billionaire’s transition into the nation’s highest office, 40 percent disapprove.

The president-elect was considered a wild card in the campaign, and it appears that he will retain that aura of unpredictability as he enters the Oval Office.

While a quarter of likely voters think Trump will prove to be a failed president, 12 percent think he will be great, 18 percent good, 15 percent fair and 30 percent undecided. And while 16 percent are excited by Trump’s presidency, the top emotions likely voters feel are at odds with each other: 38 percent are alarmed, but another 38 percent are hopeful.

A majority said Trump, who postponed a mid-December news conference during which he was expected to announce a resolution to his business interests before he takes office, should do more to “prevent conflicts of interest between his business interests and the country’s interests.”

On that June day in 2015 when he announced his improbable campaign, Trump proclaimed that he would “be the greatest jobs president that God ever created,” and likely voters are holding him to that pledge.

Forty-six percent want job creation and job preservation to be Trump’s No. 1 priority in the White House. Other top issues include fighting terrorism and the Islamic State (17 percent) and draining the swamp (15 percent) — although, according to former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, Trump “disclaims that” pledge.

Trump has appeared to shift some of his campaign policy pledges since winning the election, but 39 percent of likely voters said he should follow the policies and promises he made. Fifty percent, however, believe the president-elect should do whatever needs to be done, even if it means reneging on his promises.

The national survey of 1,000 likely voters was conducted Dec. 14-18 via landlines and cellphones. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.